Sunderland's Date With Fate at Wembley
The Black Cats are playing for a lot more than money in the Championship playoff final against Sheffield United.
IN THIS ISSUE:
EUROPA LEAGUE AUTOPSIES / SERIE A TITLE DECIDERS / WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL / ENGLAND’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RACE / THE SERIE A FRENZY CONTINUES / 2025-26 KIT DROPS
If you watched the Netflix docuseries Sunderland ‘Til I Die, you saw a famous old English club that looked like dying. Two straight relegations for the Black Cats put these giants of the Northeast in a precarious position, and the man often tasked with guiding the viewer through all this tumult and heartbreak was Nick Barnes. As the Sunderland commentator for BBC Newcastle, he calls every game for radio, but he’s also covered this club through thick and thin, many managers and even many owners. He’s seen it all.
And he’ll see one more thing this Saturday, when Sunderland travel to Wembley to face Sheffield United in the Championship playoff final — the $200 million game. Whoever wins will play Premier League football next season and travel to Anfield, Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, the Emirates Stadium. Whoever loses will be back in the Championship, going to Swansea.
Either way, Barnes will be along for the ride. But first he joins The Football Weekend to trace Sunderland’s path to this moment:
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Or check it out on APPLE PODCASTS🍎
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LONG READS
⚽︎ After the glory of Tottenham’s night in Bilbao, The Guardian’s David Hytner reports that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy “faces Postecoglou crunch time.”
⚽︎ As a natural Europa coda, Mark Critchley and Laurie Whitwell take stock of Manchester United for The Athletic.
⚽︎ Also in The Athletic, Nick Miller explores the history of Rory Delap’s (in)famous throw-ins for Stoke City. Prime Barclays.
⚽︎ Crystal Palace are undoubtedly still on cloud nine following FA Cup triumph last weekend, but on Substack in the aftermath, Henry Winter flagged what he considers a disastrous refereeing decision that helped them along the way.
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MORE MATCHES
SERIE A TITLE DECIDERS
Fri @ 2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK
Italy has had the common decency to serve up a legit title race when England, Spain, France, and Germany all failed in that endeavor. Much of it has come down to Napoli and Inter dropping a lot of unexpected points, but it’s brought us to a final matchday where the Neapolitans are just one point clear of the Nerazzuri.
They’ll both kick off simultaneously, with NAPOLI vs CAGLIARI and COMO vs INTER, and the signs point to a serious advantage for Antonio Conte’s league leaders.
Not only do they just have to equal Inter’s result, they’re at home against a Cagliari side with very little to play for. Meanwhile, Inter must travel to Como, one of the form teams in the division. (Cesc Fabregas’s outfit are unbeaten in eight matches, and they won six of them.) In the event that Napoli lose and Inter draw, they’ll go to a playoff for the Scudetto, to be played at the San Siro thanks to Inter’s far superior goal difference. Now that would be cinema, as Inter would essentially be playing a second cup final in the space of a few days before they meet PSG in the Champions League final.
ARSENAL WOMEN vs BARCELONA FEMINÍ
Sat @ 12pm ET, 5pm UK
It’s the UEFA Women’s Champions League final, and a taste of what might have been had the men’s semis gone the other way.
Barça Feminí are the powers of Europe, winners of the last two European crowns. They were runners-up the year before, and winners again the year before that. Arsenal are historically the best women’s side in England — though Chelsea have come to the fore in recent years — but they haven’t won this competition since 2007. After finishing second domestically, they won’t want another silver medal here.
ARMINIA BIELEFELD vs STUTTGART
Sat @ 2pm ET, 7pm UK
Here’s an off-beat German Cup final with a rare absence of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Bayer Leverkusen. But it’s not just that: Arminia Bielefield currently play their football in 3. Liga, Germany’s third division. It’s like a League One club making the FA Cup final. Granted, they just won promotion to the 2. Bundesliga by topping the table, but Die Arminen have played teams like SV Waldhof and SpVgg Unterhaching in recent weeks.
That makes Stuttgart firm favorites to take the DFB-Pokal despite a lukewarm season in the Bundesliga. They finished ninth, but they were playing Champions League football just this past fall.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST vs CHELSEA
Sun @ 11am ET, 4pm UK
The Premier League season wraps up with the customary all-at-once final matchday, where every team in the division kicks off simultaneously. This one’s the pick of the bunch, though, because both of these teams are still in with a shot of playing in the Champions League next season. They’re in that scrum of five different sides who still haven’t secured a seat at Europe’s top table, and these two are separated by just one point.
This one is almost impossible to call, because Forest’s home form has been bad (eight points from the last 18 available) and Chelsea’s away form has been worse (four from the last 18). The Blues have been grinding out results recently despite losing their way in this final third of the season, while Forest looked solid for a Champions League place until going off a cliff in the last month.
They’ll be scrapping it out for sure since a point isn’t enough for either one of them, but you might also want to have a look at FULHAM vs MAN CITY or NEWCASTLE vs EVERTON to see how the other Champions League contenders fare. ASTON VILLA are in the mix, too, but they’ve got a relatively easy assignment in a MAN UNITED side who seem completely broken.
THE SERIE A FRENZY CONTINUES
Sun @ 2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK
Italy really is the gift that keeps on giving, because there are legit Top Four and relegation scraps to go with that title race they’re serving up on the peninsula. Both the capital clubs are still in the mix for the fourth and final Champions League place, and TORINO vs ROMA or LAZIO vs LECCE could well determine how that shakes out. Lecce are also in the relegation mix, only clear of the drop zone on goal difference, so that should be a very spicy affair.
The same goes for VENEZIA vs JUVENTUS, though, where the home side are two points from safety and the visitors are trying to hold onto that last Champions League place. Juve have not always been the most exciting side to watch this season, but it’s a results business.
ATHLETIC CLUB vs BARCELONA
Sun @ 3pm ET, 8pm UK
The stakes are relatively minimal here, as Barcelona have long since wrapped up the league and Athletic Club will be playing Champions League football next season. But this is still first against fourth in La Liga, and it’s one last opportunity to have a look at what this writer humbly submits is the best team in Europe. Barcelona have been scintillating this season, an absolute joy to watch, so if you somehow get bored of the Serie A madness above, this isn’t a bad way to go.
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GEAR
👕 Far be it for me to sing Chelsea’s praises, but this 2025-26 release is a big step up from the chlorinated pool kit that they wore this season.
👕 A Red Star Paris training top by Kappa? Who knew we needed it — but for $39?⚽︎